Where to buy to start a family around London (750-900k)

[AX35]

Hi,

We are in our mid thirties and would like to start a family but before that we'd love to buy a house to avoid being moved around at random by landlords.

We both work in tech so we need to be in the office twice a week max but we'd like to be able to get there within roughly an hour (Canary Wharf and Liverpool Street). We currently don't drive so we would need somewhere walkable to a train station.

We are looking for 3-4 bedroom houses with garden in an area with a nice community vibe and independent shops and ideally not too small (Berkhamstead is lovely but didn't vibe with us for that reason)

I've done plenty of research but as an EU immigrant it's hard to judge a lot of those places without first hand knowledge.

We love St. Albans and had an offer accepted already before the seller pulled out and we are still looking there but there is nothing reasonable on the market right now.

Other places we looked at but can't really tell if it would be a good fit are Tunbridge Wells, Beaconsfield, Harpenden, Seven Oaks, Guildford or Maidenhead but not sure about those as we haven't visited them yet.

Does anyone have any recommendations, any places we should be checking out or should be avoiding with our criteria?

I thought the quickest trains from west byfleet were 45 mins but i might be confusing it with elsewhere.

Chuckled when I read this.

As someone happily raising a couple of kids in Leytonstone (in a 4 bed that is only a bit outside your budget) I was going to say you should definitely try here, lovely people, primary school has been great for our kids and the journey to work would be easy 😄.

The thought of voluntarily leaving E11 to head further out into commuterville would fill me with dread, but i guess it would be boring if we were all the same! Good luck.

I know Woking is 30 mins but to go on from Waterloo still takes 25 mins or so.

Personally I wouldn't go further out into Surrey to commute into East as you only have the train option whereas South London you can also have the tube option.

Honestly I’d be looking at Charlton, Blackheath and Shooters Hill, great green spaces and of course close proximity to Canary Wharf. Park Drive Charlton SE7

Blackheath is lovely

Bishops Stortford and surrounding villages. Great transport to London (Liverpool st and city (and Cambridge), handy for stansted, good for the Essex coast for day out-hour and a bits drive.
Lovely town centre, absolutely great schools. Can't rate it enough!

what about Sydenham / Penge. Very family friendly and super easy commute to Canary Wharf.

Forest Hill and surrounding? Forest Hill to Canary Wharf is 20 mins and Liverpool Street is 35. IN London but really short commute and with kids that's valuable.

What about Walthamstow? Plenty of family events and kids' activities and good for your commute too.

Westcombe Park (which is Blackheath SE3 postcode but the other side of the heath), Charlton, East Greenwich.
Easy cycle to Canary Wharf (or can jumpon dlr from Greenwich) and Southeastern to Cannon Street for the City.
Moved to this area from outside of London 15 years ago with a tiny baby and is a great area for bringing up kids

Crystal Palace as it has overground into east London. And buy somewhere you’d be happy in as a couple. Adding to your family (you are a family already!) is no guaranteed.

Thanks, I feel like that's our challenge, there are so many areas that people love and recommend but if you're not on the same wavelength then it's just not going to work out.

The other thing is the London premium on prices that is throwing us off for what you are getting just because it's London and I don't think it's worth it to us. We rather get more house for the money in a commuter town.

The other thing is the London premium on prices that is throwing us off for what you are getting just because it's London and I don't think it's worth it to us. We rather get more house for the money in a commuter town.

I get this! it's one thing to buy an expensive house with loads of equity/have bought it yrs ago for a lot less as opposed to a big mortgage for not much house. Commuting can be expensive though so factor that in.

I've lived outside London and commuted in to Liverpool Street, not a commuter town really I was off the main line but it cost £600 a month, took over an hour and the trains were regularly fucked so that it took hours to get home.

The other people commuting who had kids must have had SAHP or really understanding family/childcare or kids old enough to be left alone for god knows how long.

I was also going to suggest Bishops Stortford, you’d get a nice house for that kind of money and the trains come into Liverpool Street. Or other locations up and down that train line, but Bishops Stortford is probably the sweet spot in terms of facilities, size and travel time.

That’s always a key decision and you’ll have to work out the balance that is right for you - house size versus location, it is rare to be able to get exactly what you want for both.

My feeling is that our 4 bed is pretty good in terms of internal size, although I would love a downstairs loo and a laundry room! The bigger compromise is having to live in a terrace, but that is just life in a city for most people.

I sometimes wish our garden was bigger, but I’ve also discovered that gardens take a lot of looking after (and in their own way can cause a fair bit of stress, especially if you’re not a natural gardener like me). That is probably a case of what I imagine I want not actually being right for me, so I’m co tent with our small garden.

Go a bit further out from Leytonstone and there are great options that are about 30 mins into Liv Street - North Chingford, South Woodford, Woodford Green etc. Nice, leafy, child friendly, stuff to do, within your budget, and great for your commute. I’d have an explore around the areas that between you and Epping Forest.

Bishops Stortford is a great town. Fab facilities, restaurants, shops, pubs, parks. Excellent schools. Train direct into Liverpool Street.

As someone from up North I cannot get over just how little you get for your money in London. However that said what about this one in Blackheath?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137967239#/?channel=RES_BUY

Between the two of us we might travel into London for work maybe 10 days a month max. so we are not really worried about those costs or even childcare as our jobs are really flexible and if there are disruptions we can just work from home.

https://www.commutefrom.com/

Sounds interesting, we will have a walk around and see how we vibe with those places, thanks!

I live in West Ealing, 10 min walk to west ealing station (Elizabeth line), or 15 min bus to ealing Broadway. We also frequently walk to Hanwell as it's so lovely and green there. I work in canary wharf and it's 45 min door to desk. Not sure about areas to avoid but I'd say have a walk around.. probably areas immediately next to the west ealing end of Uxbridge road isn't great?

Thanks, planned it in for an upcoming weekend to check out and maybe get some viewings in as well.

So I’ve lived in your part of the world and now in surbiton!

• if you are going to Canary Wharf try and buy near Blackheath/west Brooke park or parts of Charlton. Nice family homes (some semis, not just terraced) and super easy commute to Canary Wharf which is we used to be. Primary schools are good. Secondaries - need to think about. Blackheath is beautiful and has a wonderful vibe.
• that said we moved to surbiton and commute to the city. And love every part of it. Lovely houses, big gardens, fast train to Waterloo (1 stop in 14 mins), access to tube if we need it (near Wimbledon), close to countryside (cusp of Surrey), great schools ( some of the secondaries in London), great family vibe/activities/communities, green soace, close to Kingston (one of the best shopping centres), diverse enough given your heritage

I could go on..